Chapter 538 - 531: I Do Miss Her

"Ohh, so that was it. But what a shame, he’ll never know why in his entire life."

The old nanny shook her head. "No, he found out."

"What?! How did he find out?" The Matriarch’s expression changed. "Don’t tell me you told him?"

"Yes, I was the one who told him," the old nanny admitted.

"Why!" The Matriarch couldn’t believe it. The person she trusted most had betrayed her. In a fit of anger, she threw the cup in her hand, hitting the old nanny on the head. "You’ve been with me for over twenty years, and this is how you repay me! I trusted you so much!"

The old nanny dropped to her knees. Blood trickled from her forehead, dripping from the side of her face onto the floor.

"Matriarch, my death alone is nothing to regret. But what people fear most is implicating their families. I have dozens of relatives. They can’t be wiped out because of this old bag of bones. My older brother is already in his eighties, with one foot in the grave, and then there’s my nephew and his wife... For over twenty years, I have served you, Matriarch, with my whole heart and without a shred of disloyalty. I told him, and I will take responsibility for what I’ve done. I only hope that, for the sake of my many years of service, you will spare my family."

With that, she stood up and slammed her head against a pillar. Her face was instantly covered in blood, a testament to how ruthless she could be, even to herself.

"Nanny!"

The Matriarch cried out as the old nanny’s body collapsed. The door was pushed open, revealing Lillian Bancroft and a group of people standing at the entrance.

After all, the Matriarch and the old nanny had been together for so many years; they had a deep bond.

With the old nanny gone just like that,

the Matriarch, despite her resentment, was actually heartbroken.

In truth, the old nanny didn’t need to do that. The Matriarch no longer had any power and wouldn’t have been able to take her anger out on the nanny’s family.

"Lillian Bancroft, are you satisfied now?"

"Me, satisfied? Aren’t you the one who’s dissatisfied that your carefully constructed web of lies has been exposed?" His eyes turned cold. "Men, seize this old witch and throw her in the dungeons!"

"Yes, sir!"

He glanced at the dead nanny on the floor and added, "Bury her. Send a sum of money to her family and tell them she died suddenly and has already been cremated."

"Yes, sir!"

Lillian Bancroft turned, the nanny’s recording in hand, and headed for the dungeons.

The door to Jonathan Bancroft’s cell was opened. When Jonathan saw him, he immediately stood up. "Let me out!"

Lillian Bancroft took a step forward and threw a punch, striking him in the face and knocking Jonathan Bancroft to the ground.

"All these years, you’ve taken an enemy for a mother. You’re still acting like an idiot, and you want to get out?"

Jonathan Bancroft scrambled to his feet. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Listen carefully."

He tossed the recorder to him.

Jonathan Bancroft turned it on. As he listened to the old nanny’s words, his face grew darker and darker.

Then he threw the recorder back to Lillian Bancroft. "You think I’ll believe this is real?"

"It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. Because even if you believe it’s real, I’m not letting you go. And if you don’t, I have even less reason to release you. Just stay put in here."

"Lillian Bancroft, you think I don’t have an ace up my sleeve? Just you wait."

"Are you talking about those men stationed in Grestin?" He gave a contemptuous smile. "If you’re executed and your power is revoked, do you really think Toby Dalton will avenge you? He’s finally free of your control. Why would he go looking for trouble?"

"You... How did you know?"

"If I couldn’t even figure that out, how could I be a nation’s Supreme Leader? It’s no wonder I’m the one replacing you." He tightened his grip on the recorder and turned to leave the cell.

He had known for a long time that this man was his biological brother. But even though they shared a mother, they hadn’t grown up together and were sworn enemies. To be honest, Lillian Bancroft felt no brotherly affection for him at all.

And as for that old woman to whom he had no blood ties, he certainly wouldn’t be sentimental.

The moment he walked out of the dungeon, Lillian Bancroft finally let out a breath. If it weren’t for that innocent family who had been victimized, he wouldn’t have acted so quickly.

But at this moment, thinking of the young face of the person who had just died yesterday, he felt a pang of guilt. ’I shouldn’t have dragged her into this. Otherwise, she might have been living happily somewhere right now.’

With such a major event unfolding, Toby Dalton, who had long controlled Grestin’s economic lifelines, had already caught wind of it.

But he had yet to make a move.

The main reason was that he was waiting for the right moment. He had to be especially cautious, given Quentin Grant’s involvement. In his mind, Quentin hadn’t yet settled the score for the harm done to his son. Little did he know, if he found out that Quentin had already gotten his revenge, Toby Dalton might just die of rage.

After several days of waiting, Toby Dalton’s informant sent word: all real power in Harrowin had fallen into Lillian Bancroft’s hands. Hearing this, Toby felt a small sense of relief that he hadn’t acted. The planned assassination of Lillian Bancroft at the end of October had already come to an end with Quinn Sullivan’s death and Jonathan Bancroft’s capture.

The assassination plot, which had withered before it could even begin, vanished just like that.

But what he hadn’t expected was to receive an order from Lillian Bancroft. That’s right—an order, not an invitation, and certainly not a negotiation.

He was ordered to go to Harrowin to receive his instructions. Lillian Bancroft also declared he was taking over all the real power Jonathan Bancroft had held, including Toby and his subordinates secretly embedded in Grestin, as well as their numerous businesses.

Toby Dalton had no choice but to go. The day he arrived in Harrowin, the weather was terrible, with a light rain falling.

He arrived at the Imperial Palace and was taken by a small vehicle to the door of Lillian Bancroft’s office.

Toby Dalton was dressed formally in a suit and tie. He followed the attendant inside and saw at a glance that Lillian Bancroft was not alone.

Ethan Ellsworth and his wife were there, as was Quentin Grant.

"Young Master Dalton, you’re here. Please, have a seat." Lillian Bancroft rose with a smile.

Toby Dalton’s heart pounded with fear. He didn’t know what trick Lillian Bancroft was playing, but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be anything good.

"Yes, thank you, Supreme Leader." He spoke with the utmost respect.

"I don’t think I need to make any introductions. You know these three, don’t you?"

Toby Dalton nodded sheepishly. "I do."

"As you should. After all, you’re the one who ordered the kidnapping of Young Master Ellsworth’s daughter and Young Master Grant’s son." Lillian Bancroft’s eyes narrowed into a slight smile. "Oh, and by the way, I don’t think you know this, but Dorothy Ellsworth, the daughter of Ethan Ellsworth and Chloe Marshall, is my goddaughter. I watched her grow up. I don’t allow anyone to harm a single hair on her head. So when I heard someone had touched my goddaughter, I wondered who could be so bold."

The word "goddaughter" was like a bomb going off in Toby Dalton’s head. He never, ever would have expected this connection...

"I... I..." Toby Dalton panicked and dropped to his knees with a THUD. "Supreme... Leader... I hurt the two children, and I feel incredibly guilty now. I don’t know how I can possibly compensate them. Please, give me a chance..."

Toby Dalton was a smart man. He knew who was in charge now. When it was time to be submissive, you had to be submissive. There was no point in putting on a brave front.

"I, on the other hand, know exactly how you can compensate them. I just don’t know if you’ll be willing..."

Toby Dalton’s heart tightened. He had a sinking feeling he knew what Lillian Bancroft wanted, but in this situation, did he have any choice but to give it?

"What is it?"

"The things that belong to my Harrowin, I will, of course, take back personally..."

"You want my position..." ’Just as I guessed.’ "Or are you planning to pull all these assets out of Grestin?"

"Your position, of course." Lillian Bancroft was no fool. By replacing Toby Dalton with one of his own men, he could pull all investments if Grestin ever got out of line, instantly paralyzing their economy. It was a brilliant move set up by Jonathan Bancroft, and now Lillian was the one reaping the benefits.

"Can I see Jonathan Bancroft?"

"You may." Lillian Bancroft looked at his subordinate. "Take him to the dungeon to see Jonathan Bancroft."

Toby Dalton stood up and followed him out.

Quentin Grant looked across at his friend. "Young Master Ellsworth, we should be heading back. Everything here is under control. Dealing with that man is Mr. Bancroft’s business now. There’s no need for us to get involved any further."

Ethan Ellsworth scoffed. "If you miss your woman, just say so. To be honest, you’re missing Nora, aren’t you?"

Quentin Grant admitted it freely. "I do miss her. It’s not like before. I used to be all alone, only had myself to worry about. Now, the whole family has to eat for me to not feel hungry. That’s the importance of family."

"Alright, then let’s head back in a bit. What do you think?" He looked at Lillian Bancroft.

"Alright."

「*」

When Toby Dalton reached the dungeon and saw Jonathan Bancroft, his long-held reverence was replaced by the feeling of watching a good show.

"I never thought you’d end up like this..."

Jonathan Bancroft sat up straight. "Toby Dalton, you’ve really got some nerve. At my most critical moment, not a single one of your men came to rescue me. I raised you to your position, but I never expected I was raising a treacherous villain!"

"Mr. Bancroft, don’t say that. After all, I’m about to lose all my power too. He wants to revoke my status in Grestin. I’ll probably be just another unemployed man. So don’t think I’m any better off than you. Besides, even if he hadn’t thrown you in this dungeon, I was just a knife in your hand. My choices were to kill him at the end of October or be killed by him. If I had killed him, you might have silenced me to tie up loose ends, or you might have seen me in a new light. But if I had failed to kill him again, I would have either been killed by him or punished by you. That was my fate. In a way, isn’t this for the best?"

"You become an unemployed man... You think Quentin Grant will let you off the hook?"

"It doesn’t matter whether he lets me off or not. I’ll argue my case, tell him the truth about the incident in Fravia, and try to get a lighter sentence. The worst that can happen is death. But you, as his own brother, will probably never have a chance to make a comeback in this lifetime."

Jonathan Bancroft gritted his teeth. "Toby Dalton, I really did underestimate you..."

"This may be the last time we ever see each other. We’ll both have to fend for ourselves now." He turned.

As he walked out of the cell, he could still hear Jonathan Bancroft’s furious raving from within.

He returned to Lillian Bancroft’s office.

"Did you see him?"

Toby Dalton replied, "Yes, I did."